Support - PA's and Area Leaders
About the PA system The PA (Prefectural Advisor) system provides JETs with support and advocacy. There are currently five PAs in Ishikawa, two for ALTs (both prefectural and municipal) - Melissa Cho and Charles Fliss, one for CIRs – Jeff Shieh and one Japanese PAs – Ryosuke Naka. We are here to help people with problems they cannot resolve with the help of their supervisor. From workplace-related issues to more personal problems, and to provide support to help make JET a positive and rewarding experience. Who are the PAs? They are members from the JET community, who have taken the extra responsibility of being a PA. It is not a paid responsibility and there is no special contract for their work. They are essentially a JET with extra work duties on top of being a CIR or ALT. PAs are recognized by CLAIR and coordinated at the local level by the Ishikawa International Affairs Division: Contact Information for your Ishikawa PAs Prefectural ALT PA Anri Simpson Location: Ishikawa Prefectural Education Center 石川県金沢市高尾町ウ31番地1石川県教育センター 〒921－8153 Ishikawa-ken, Kanazawa-shi Takao-machi u-31-1, 921-8153 Office: 076 298 1705 Mobile: 090 8099-7381 Fax: 076 298 3518 Email: simpsoac@gmail.com Municipal ALT PA Charles Fliss Location: Nanao City Board of Education 七尾市教育委員会 Mobile: 090-8090-8995 Email: cmjfliss @ gmail dot com CIR PA Victor Chuah http://www.ifie.or.jp/english/ifie/member/america/index.html Location: Ishikawa Foundation for International Exchange, Kanazawa (IFIE) http://www.ifie.or.jp/index.php 財団法人 石川県国際交流協会 〒920-0853 石川県金沢市本町1丁目5番3号 リファーレ3階 Rifare Building 3F, 1-5-3, Hon-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan 〒920-0853 Office: 076 262 5931 Mobile: Fax: 076 222 5932 Email: Japanese PA Ichie Nakade (中出) Location: Ishikawa Prefectural International Exchange Division, Prefectural Administration Center http://www.pref.ishikawa.jp/each_e/e-k-kokusai/index.html 〒920-8580　石川県金沢市鞍月1丁目1番地 1-1 Kuratsuki, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-8580 Office: 076 225 1381 Available: 8:00am to 4:30pm at the office Please no calls after 9:00pm on the mobile. Crisis response only after 9pm! The PA’s Professional Duties Mediation Your PA can provide mediation if you find yourself facing a dispute, disagreement, deadlock or misunderstanding between yourself and another JET-related party. PAs can mediate in person or over the phone. Our main aims during mediation are to identify the underlying unmet needs that are creating the problem and to work towards a solution that keeps harmony between all parties. Examples of things that we can mediate on: disputes over nenkyu; problems at work that have arisen over cultural differences; differences of opinion over work practices; misunderstandings that have arisen over incidents, communication breakdowns. *Though mediation can improve communication between JET and workplace, it is imperative the JET makes an effort to maintain good relations with their CO (Contracting Organization) as everything comes back to the CO, not to CLAIR or the PAs. Consultation (We request the following consultation support be used only as necessary. PAs will field calls from people who have already taken steps to resolve problems with the help of their supervisor.) Consultation is similar to counseling but consultation is more about finding solutions to day-to-day problems whereas counseling involves emotional issues. The PAs have many resources at hand and experience in sorting things out, so if you would like to consult with one of us, drop us a line. Examples of things that you can consult on: problems with nenkyu (yearly paid leave); cultural misunderstandings; team-teaching problems; issues with people at work; medical issues; contract issues; communication difficulties, information distribution. Your PAs are a focal-point for information distribution. We receive information from many different sources and forward it on or post it here if it's useful. We send out: information on JET and non-JET events; CLAIR updates; consulate and embassy notices; changes in policies or laws that affect JETs; info from JETs to JET Orientations and training conferences. Orientations aim at preparing JETs for work and helping JETs and the Ishikawa community work better together. We advocate cross-cultural understanding between JETs and their Japanese colleagues and provide classroom and cultural advice through (prefectural) seminars and workshops. Examples of conferences we organize: new-JET orientations; August - (new ALT) Seminar; November - Mid-year ALT Conference (largely organized by the Conference Coordinator at the Prefectural Education Center and the ALT PA Projects Depending on the PAs own workload in any particular year and the activity of Ishikawa AJET, PAs may run social nights or projects which get JETs together outside work. The PA's Personal Duties Crisis Response In case of crisis response (only), PAs are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you find yourself involved in an emergency or crisis situation, contact one of us immediately. But please understand that we are volunteers. Being a PA is not our full-time job, therefore we may be unavailable at certain times due to work or private commitments etc. Please also respect our private time (and sleeping hours!) and only call after hours if it is a crisis that cannot wait until the next day. Examples of crisis response situations: emergency hospital visits; crime-related incidents (break-ins etc); vehicle accidents; loss (bereavement etc.); physical or mental trauma; natural disaster. Counseling Counseling is one of the most important things PAs do as they are one of the links in your support network. Living in Japan can be stressful at times. Don't bottle the stress up inside, just talking about it can help resolve things. PAs also provide referrals to professional counselors and psychiatrists. Examples of things that you can talk to us about: culture shock; day-to-day issues that are causing you stress; depression; problems that you are having with people at your workplace; re-contracting etc Further counseling support in English Additional Phone Counseling Don't hesitate to make use of these support lines. You don't need to have an emergency to call them. The JET Line: 03-3591-5489. Based at CLAIR offices in Tokyo. Available weekdays 9am-5:45pm. AJET Peer Support: 050-5534-5566. 8pm-8am, 365 days a year! An open ear for all JETs. TELL Lifeline : 03-5774-0992. 9am-11pm daily. Free, anonymous telephone counseling and support across Japan. TELL Counseling : By appointment only. TELL Counseling is the only professional psychotherapy and counseling center in Japan staffed by licensed professionals Area Leaders Ishikawa JET Area Leader System is designed to give new JETs day-to-day living support, especially in the first few weeks of their stay. AL Support System aims to help you smoothly integrate into your community so you can start to feel at home here before you even arrive. It aims to help you quickly and effectively resolving day-to-day living problems so you can spend more time enjoying the JET experience and this incredible place in which we live! We've divided Ishikawa into regions, each with various Area Leaders. Area Leaders are volunteers from the JET community who help orientate new JETs to their surroundings. Area Leaders and PAs: What's the difference? Area Leaders help orientate you in your community, and Prefectural Advisors (PA) help resolve personal and/or work related problems. While your Area Leader can help you with locating places to buy things when setting up your apartment, finding good places to eat out, showing you around the area and helping you with other information about where you live, they are not responsible for counseling, helping you with workplace-related issues, advising you on problem resolution or similar matters. If you experience any problems while you are on the JET Programme, that you cannot resolve by yourself or with the help of your supervisor, please contact your PA. They are trained to help resolve issues or to refer you to professional counselors. Other Resouces Reporting a Crime Information for Victims of a Crime Supporting the Victim of a Crime Supporting the Victim of a Crime Ishikawa Police Help Line Foreign language support for reporting incidents in Ishikawa. 9am-5pm, weekdays. 076-225-0555 Female-only Police Help Line This is a special police line in Ishikawa for female victims of crime who want to speak to a female receptionist and have their case handled by female officers. English support may be limited to what the receptionist and officer know. 076-225-0281